Motorbike travel

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>>1247459
You still here OP?

>Will you actually end up saying any money on buses etc?
Depends on how long you're there for, but most likely. Also, the best part about having a bike is the enormous freedom it gives you to go anywhere at any time.

>how hard will it be to re-sell?
I bought and sold three bikes while in SEA and had no major problems. With one of the bikes, I was stupid and waited until 1 day before I had to sell it to cross a border, and ended up having to sell it very cheap. But the other two I sold for the exact price that I bought them for.
>I hear a lot of tourists have to basically give their bike away because they bought used, or didn't leave enough time to sell it
Like I said, along as you give yourself a couple days and park it in a backpacker area with a cardboard sign, you'll be alright. Worst comes worst, you go to a local bike shop and they buy it from you for 50% of its value (which is better than nothing).

>can't say I've ever ridden a bike before, so I'm also wondering if I'l end up as one of the hundreds of scraped up farangs; or if they get injured mainly because they are drunk fuckwits
Asian roads are no joke. The drivers (especially buss drivers) are cutthroat and show no mercy. That being said, you just gotta be smart and stay out of their way. Give yourself a large amount of room between other vehicles and be cautious. DO NOT ride around in flip-flops and shorts. That's the quickest way to get seriously injured. Wear boots, pants, and even some riding armor if you can find some. I rode around for 9 months and whenever I was going long distance or even just out of town, I wore a full sleeve chest protector which saved me from bad road rash twice.
You can see the chest protector in my pic. And my GF wore a heavy motorcycle jacket that had armor in it as well.

Any more questions?

Realize that you'll save money on taxis, save time in walking, and so on too.

However given this:

>can't say I've ever ridden a bike before

Then there's a very, very good chance that all of your savings on taxis will be overshadowed by the amount that you spend on medical bills.

Riding out there is quite different, it's not more or less predictable like it is in the US, or at least not in the same way. When I was riding around Vietnam long-distance I'd be forced off the road literally every few hours, sometimes with very little warning when I went around a corner and there was someone coming straight at me in my lane. I could only do it because I had plenty of experience riding elsewhere in SEA and the US first.

Learn to ride first via a motorcycle safety course where you live. In the US there's a subsidized course that you can take that gets you your license at the end too, if you pass the test. I'd do that, then spend some time riding around tranquil spots in SEA (like the Thai islands that just have two-lane roads, or maybe Pai). After a bunch of that you can decide whether you want to ride across the country.

Personally I went around Vietnam and Thailand for a couple months on a motorcycle, then had a fall doing it in Myanmar, and decided that it wasn't really worth the risk. But it's really hands-down the best way to travel through SEA if you accept the risk.

>>1247761
Hmm, are you a mud?

>>1247923
What are you asking? My ethnicity?
I'm French/Italian...

I'm currently on a long pan-America motorcycle trip (see other thread), but also rode around SEA for ~6 months a couple years back. Nothing bad happened to me, but I ran into a whole slew of foreigners who were hurt riding motorcycles there.

I'd say you need to get AT LEAST a months worth of daily riding in somewhere tranquil to consider taking to the open road in SEA. Also a full-face helmet and riding gear brought from home is highly recommended (on this Americas trip my riding jacket has saved my skin twice: once in a blowout and once when some idiot plowed into me; I also now have a nice scar on my knee from wearing jeans and not proper riding pants).

If riding a motorcycle expertly isn't total second nature, then anything unexpected is likely to result in a #badday.

But yeah it does give you massive freedom vs bussing, and while it won't save you a lot of money in SEA, it will save you a tone of time and aggravation. OTOH it would definitely have been cheaper to bus around Latin America than to ride as I currently am (but then it was MASSIVELY cheaper to ride in the US vs using public transport).

>>1247923
are you an asshole?

>>1247459
Just rent something if you have no experience riding a bike. The odd day here and there, you should be ok - acci

>>1248174
*you're more likely to have an accident if you're doing long distances, riding every day for extended periods and/or getting complacent

>>1248048
>Also a full-face helmet and riding gear brought from home is highly recommended

THIS. Real safety gear does not really exist in SEA. I thought I'd get it in Vietnam but it just isn't there. The helmets are plastic shells with styrofoam in them and no chin guard.

I did 2 months in Vietnam with no prior riding experience, no protective gear apart from a shitty helmet and sold my bike for what I bought it for and met plenty of other people who did the same, it's very possible. However I met plenty of people who seriously injured themselves too, including a French guy who had a graze on his arm which I could see the bone through who I had to ride to the nearest hospital since none of the locals wanted to know.

It's definitely doable whatever anyone else ITT is saying, but try and get your first experience riding to be in a rural area. A day of riding on country roads with a rented one was enough for me to go back to Hanoi, buy a bike and ride out with no problems.

found a quiet country town to rent a bike and practice
....but nobody will rent a bike to someone who can't ride

I...I kind of get it, but it's a heap of shit

I'm just so sick of being stuck on the grid, can't go where I want to, can't get anywhere WHEN i want to, and overpaying all the way

shit I can't even get bus counters to sell me anything but VIP busses, fuck thailand man

It sounds simple, but confidence, concentration and anticipation are probably the most important things preventing accidents (the ones where people panic and lose control and fall off) which seem to be the most common. There are times you can rip and go fast and have fun and there are times when you got a slow down and hug the outside lane when you see a truck coming in your sideview mirror.

I drove back from Pai to Chaing Mai in a monsoon and it was honestly one of the most fucked up rides I've ever done.

Best places I've driven is Myanmar and Vietnam by far. If you anons ever get a chance drive around Hpa An in Myanmar.

>>1247761
>>1247812
Excellent photo there m8. Good advice too.

>>1248473
>fuck thailand man
Some parts and some businesses are top-tier pros at separating tourists from their money.

>>1247459
>can't say I've ever ridden a bike before
This is the only reason I would firmly discourage you from doing this. If shit goes down on a motorcycle, especially if you're far from home, it can quite easily ruin much more than your day. I would guess your inexperience extends beyond riding capabilities, but probably also picking a decent condition & properly equipped vehicle. I love motorcycling, and strongly encourage you to get involved, but all the aforementioned factors together lead me to counsel you against getting started while touring 3rd world countries.

>>1248473
>nobody will rent a bike to someone who can't ride
Can't even get a scooter? Picking up one of these just for nipping around a local area, not for covering any serious distances or carrying full loads, is about as I'd gauge acceptable risk for your situation.

>>1248473
>nobody will rent a bike to someone who can't ride

Just blag it. Get a semi-automatic and immediately put it in top gear when you start the bike. It will only go so slowly that you won't be able to kill yourself. It's a lot safer than learning on a scooter actually since the throttle is more controlled that way.

>>1248688
>Get a semi-automatic and immediately put it in top gear when you start the bike
Don't do this. It might slow the bike down and make it feel extremely lethargic, but it is horrible for the bike. Doing this causes the bike to slip the clutch the entire time as it attempts to get up to speed, and you will quickly burn the clutch up and ruin it. It won't be fun bringing the bike back to the shop and having to pay for a new clutch/transmission. Learning how to ride the right way isn't hard, it takes maybe 15 minutes of practice

>>1248740
I'm not suggesting he do it for longer than 5-10 minutes you berk. Just that if he puts it in first and then tries to accelerate chances are he'll drive into a wall or something far more quickly than he was planning. It's literally just a start so you don't wreck yourself or the bike.

>>1248745
>I'm not suggesting he do it for longer than 5-10 minutes you berk
You never specified that. This guy is a beginner, for all you know he might try to ride it that way the whole time. In which case he would fry the clutch and be stuck with a $200 repair bill.
I get it, putting it in top gear bogs it down and makes it take off slow. But it's not the right way to ride a bike, and I wouldn't advise anyone to ride a bike like that. Even if it's just for 10 minutes, it's still causing excessive wear and could still cause the clutch to fail on a used rental bike.
He can take your advice if he chooses, but I would recommend just using 1st gear to start off and be careful with the throttle.

>>1248688
>>1248745
>the advice of someone who has only controlled motorcycles using a keyboard & mouse
That was literally the stupidest idea I've read on this board this year.

Because they don't want to look dorky most westerners that go to Vietnam to do a motorcycle trip get one of the few and extremely shitty fully manual bikes (ridden exclusively by tourists for this purpose, and some dirt poor mountain folks).

But if you have no experience a fully automatic (cvt) scooter would be a lot less to deal with, and while they're more expensive they're also a lot better made (since this is what Vietnamese people in the cities all ride). A semi-automatic (clutchless) bike would also be easier (impossible to stall them).

>>1248928
No. I lived in Vietnam for several years and on several occasions I've seen people who've never ridden a bike before literally accelerate into a wall since they don't know how to control the throttle properly. 1st gear on a bike can be quite jumpy for someone who's not used to it. Put yourself in the head of someone who's never had proper training or had anyone explain to them how a bike works other than on the internet, it will be mental overload at first as they get used to everything.

It's not only my general advice to start in a higher gear for a few minutes until people feel more confident to move down, but literally something I've seen locals who rent bikes to foreigners there do themselves because it stops any stupidness happening.

>>1248956
>and extremely shitty fully manual bikes

I'd like to see you try get up a steep dirt road on a honda wave.

They have their uses, most Vietnamese dont use them because they don't have the need for them and they are less cost efficient for normal people. Its like buying a heavy duty landcruiser 4wd to drive around the city in.

>>1248745
he needs to start with second gear, never rode a bike in SEA that didn't start on second gear really, even on upslopes

>>1249148
No. Learn to do it right. If you can't handle it in 1st gear, don't fuck the machine in 3rd. You learn nothing worth having. Do it right, do it safe, or don't do it at all.

>>1248956
>Because they don't want to look dorky most westerners that go to Vietnam to do a motorcycle trip get one of the few and extremely shitty fully manual bikes

Yep, they're definitely extremely shitty, they've been driven into the ground, they're even more expensive than the semi-auto bikes. But the repairs aren't a massive deal because there are mechanics absolutely everywhere in Vietnam and repairs are always cheap.

But, for all of the hassle of repairs and such, the manuals are WAY more fun than the semi-autos, and IMO they're more comfortable and better suited for all-day cross-country rides as well. Working the clutch along with everything else keeps things interesting.

Regardless, definitely don't do a full-auto bike though. That's just boring as fuck and wouldn't work as well in the mountains if you're going into the highlands. Locals going cross-country use semi-autos generally.

>>1249170
A few minutes in third in trade for the experience of a lifetime riding is a trade I think many people would think is worth it. Obviously if they feel like they can handle the throttle in first with no prior experience then fine, but that's their decision to make not yours. The bike won't die after 5 minutes in a higher gear while they learn how to not kill themselves.

>>1249190
Ok, we are not going to agree on this point, and if we ever conversed irl, there would be many other points on which we would disagree as well.

We will not follow the paths of each other's advice, but may we both be happy regardless.

>>1249148
>on several occasions I've seen people who've never ridden a bike before literally accelerate into a wall
Anyone who panic-throttles into a wall shouldn't be on a bike to begin with.
>it will be mental overload at first as they get used to everything
A semi automatic scooter is the farthest thing from a mental overload haha. There's not even a clutch to worry about, just throttle. If someone can't handle a little 125cc scooter, they shouldn't be on a bike.
>1st gear on a bike can be quite jumpy for someone who's not used to it
Hardly. In order to lose control or hit a wall, you'd have to literally twist the throttle all the way back to full power and then hold it there and forget to let go. And anyone who is prone to making mistakes like that shouldn't be on a bike.

I've taught friends who have never ridden a motorcycle before how to ride a 250 2-stroke, clutch and all, and they were comfortably riding within 10 minutes. When I was in SEA, I was with multiple people who had never ridden a bike before, and they rented semi-auto scooters and with proper instruction the did fine. No one rode full throttle into walls or had to start the bike in top gear.

>>1249152
Rode a honda (Taiwanese copy) wave all through Vietnam up some pretty steep hills with no problems, just fix your clutch and keep the pre load on the centrifugal right.

The only full manuals left are really the "Honda" Wins and they are by far the biggest hunk of shit I've seen, the number of stories of total catastrophic failure was ridiculous, wheels falling off and such.

>Starting in third gear
>Learning to ride in SEA
Go for it guys, the backpacker gene pool is a bit shitty anyway.

>>1248497
where did you get your motorcycle in myanmar? if never seen them being rented anywhere other than bagan

>>1247812

I learned how to ride in New Delhi and didn't have a single accident.

Having said that, I would never recommend anyone do the same. While I've since gotten my own bike in the States and have toured parts of Central America on rentals, I recognise that I got incredibly lucky by never dropping the motorcycle I learned to ride on or getting into any accidents. South and Southeast Asia are not places you want to learn to ride.

The big upside is that I don't think I'll ever be intimidated by traffic anywhere. I've done tons of riding in India and feel as comfortable on two wheels there as anywhere else.

But again, I could have as easily wound up getting flattened by a bus or getting wiped out by a stray cow.

It has been a dream of mine for a while to travel SEA and further on a motorbike, but I'm quite concerned about fucking myself up (very inexperienced rider).

This is the only thing stopping me at the moment.

>>1249707
There are two expats that rent them out in Mandalay. I suggest going with the brit (the other one offers discounts to bloggers so they write about him, but the other guy is better). I got an awesome dual-sport bike there that had ~20km on it.

You can only get the shitty e-bikes in Bagan. But despite what people will tell you, you can bring a motorcycle there yourself from Mandalay.